Will Run for Food, Part 1

I mentioned in a previous post that I wasn't going to sign up for any more races until after SF Marathon.  There were two races I had my eye on, but they were 5k fun runs.  So I told myself, I would just do those two and really focus all my attention on SF Marathon.

As you may have noticed from my previous post, that didn't last long.  In fact, last week I actually agreed to do TWO runs that were previously not on my radar!!!  I know, I know, I have a problem.  There needs to be some sort of Runners' Anonymous meetings for people like me.

The second run was the one I did on Saturday, the Froyo Run.  Let me just say, I was peer-pressured into this one!  (And by peer pressure, I mean someone tagged me in a picture of their medal on Instagram and I just had to have it!)  Plus, I had friends who wanted to do this one too, and what kind of friend would I be if I turned them down for a fun run?

I know, I have a problem.  We established that already.

Anyhoo, as I said, this was the Froyo Run, which consisted of a 5k or 10k race with, of course, Froyo at the finish line!  And my favorite part....the medal is a spoon!!  (Although I don't recommend eating from it; its far too cute for that).  We did the 5k since two of us were doing a 10k the following day, and had so much fun earning our dessert! 

We got to the venue an hour before our race time, which was great planning, although unnecessary since it was a small race and their check-in process was super on-point!  Race swag included a hat and sunnies, in addition to the yummy froyo waiting at the finish line. 

Fruit punch froyo wth mini m&ms, oreo bits, and almonds...yum!

The race was advertised as, "A flat, fast course being designed with PRs in mind. Journey through a refreshing, clearly marked course across smooth roads and fast pavement, with a beautiful SoCal backdrop." (Taken directly from froyorun.com) Let me tell you, while it was a relatively flat course, there was one HUGE hill around a little over a mile in!  And another slight hill around mile 2.25.  And another around 2.75.  So, just saying, not quite the flat course they advertised. 

It was a super gloomy day but thankfully no rain.  I don't mind running in the rain, but I wanted my friends to have fun and plus eating froyo in the rain didn't exactly hit the top of my list of things to do that day. 

My friends and I agreed to go at our own paces, although we started as 2 twosomes.  I was intimidated by the first hill but luckily I include a similar hill in my normal route so I tackled it feeling fairly strong.  I had wanted to use this race as a training run and go at a nice easy pace.  Thankfully or unfortunately (depending on how you look at it) I felt really good and went WAY faster than my intended pace.  Like, over a minute per mile faster.  Which is great!  But my legs were super crampy the following day so I think a little slower would have been smarter.  Oh well, its definitely great to know that my training is paying off and I felt a lot stronger than I have in awhile.  Having some rest time and training smart is starting to show and I am so excited to see how far I can go in the coming months!

 

 

 

Definitely the first medal I've wanted to eat off of =)